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Self-assessment of the health state of the population of Ukraine, April, 2021

The press release was prepared by Liana Novikova

From April 16 to 22, 2021, KIIS conducted a public opinion poll "Omnibus" by CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviews) method based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. The sample is representative for the adult population (18 years and older) of Ukraine. The sample does not include territories that are temporarily not controlled by the authorities of Ukraine - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. 2003 interviews were conducted during the survey.

The statistical error of the sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.1) does not exceed: 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% - for indicators close to 25%, 1.5 % - for indicators close to 10%.

 

Watch the video commentary to the press release: 

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology has been monitoring the dynamics of self-assessment of the state of health of the population of Ukraine since 1995. According to surveys data, over the past few years there has been a tendency to gradually increase the share of healthy (self-assessed) residents of Ukraine: if in 2013-2015 about 40% of Ukrainians considered themselves healthy, then, starting from 2016, this figure increased in 2019 -2020 was about 50%. However, a year and a half in a pandemic probably affected the health and well-being of Ukrainians: according to a 2021 survey, 40% of respondents assess their own health as good, and 14% - as bad.

Graph 1*. Dynamics of self-assessment of the state of health of Ukrainians, 1995-2021. 

For the indicators of 1995-2015, the data of Omnibus surveys conducted by KIIS by the method of personal interview (the sample is ~ 2000 respondents) are given. For the indicators of 2016-2019, the data of the survey "Index of Health. Ukraine”, conducted by KIIS for the International Foundation "Renaissance" and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine by personal interview (the sample is ~ 10,000 respondents). For the 2020-2021 indicators, the data of Omnibus surveys conducted by KIIS by telephone interview are provided (the sample is ~ 2000 respondents).

In general, as of April 2021, 40% of surveyed adults in Ukraine rated their health as good or very good, 46% - as mediocre (neither good nor bad) or could not determine, and 14% - as bad or very bad. Compared to 2020, the share of those who consider themselves healthy has decreased significantly (by 9 percentage points) and, accordingly, the share of those who assess their health mediocrely has increased (by 8 percentage points).

Health can be affected by a variety of factors, including age, gender, well-being, place of residence, or other factors. Consider the differences in these parameters according to the April survey data.

By age:

There is a pattern that persists during the measurement period: the older the age group of respondents, the smaller the proportion of healthy (self-assessed) among them. So, now among people aged 18 to 29 years 66% feel healthy, in the age group 30-39 years - 57%, aged 40-49 years - 47%, aged 50-59 years - 28%, aged 60-69 years - 16%, and among people aged 70 years or older – 13% (Table+ 2).

By gender:

Men usually consider their health better than women: while 50% of men rate their health as good or very good, 32% of women. Among men, 9% rate their health as poor or very poor, while among women – 19% (Table 3). This may be due in particular to the fact that the average life expectancy of women in Ukraine is about 10 years higher than men (77 years for women and 67 - for men), so the share of women in the oldest age groups, which have the lowest self-esteem of health is even higher than among younger people (for example, among people over 79, women make up 70% and men only 30%).

By type of settlement (city-village):

The percentage of those who feel healthy is slightly higher in cities (42%) than in rural areas (36%). This may be due to working conditions and material well-being (which is higher in cities), as well as to the availability of health services and a more developed network of medical institutions in cities.

By level of financial security of the family:

There is still a link between health and well-being: the better the standard of living, the higher the proportion of those in good health. So, if among the least wealthy (those who do not even have enough money for food) called themselves healthy only 14%, then among people with a high level of material well-being (can afford to buy expensive things) - 47%, and among people with very high level of financial security - 64% (Table 5). The higher the level of well-being, the better the opportunities for health care.

 

Health is also an important condition for feeling happy: among those who have good or very good health, 85% feel happy, and among those who have poor or very poor health, 40% of respondents are happy. (Table 6).

 

Appendix 1. Formulation of questions from the questionnaire

How would you evaluate your health?

Very good 1
Good 2
Mediocre (neither good nor bad) 3
Bad 4
Very bad 5
DIFFICULT TO SAY 6
REFUSAL TO ANSWER 7

 

Annex 2. Tables

Tables 1*. Distribution of answers to the question "How would you evaluate your health?" in dynamics (Ukraine without temporarily occupied territories, %)

  2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Very good 6 7 5 10 9,5 5
Good 39 40 43 40 39,5 35
Mediocre or difficult to say 41 39 41 38 38 46
Bad 12 12 9 10 10 11
Very bad 2 2 2 2 3 3
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

For the indicators of 2016-2019, the data of the survey "Index of Health. Ukraine”, conducted by KIIS for the International Foundation "Renaissance" and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine by personal interview (the sample is ~ 10,000 respondents). For the 2020-2021 indicators, the data of Omnibus surveys conducted by KIIS by telephone interview are provided (the sample is ~ 2000 respondents).

According to the latest Omnibus, April 2021:

HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE YOUR HEALTH? (DISTRIBUTION OF ANSWERS IN%)

Table 2. By age

  18-29 y. 30-39 y. 40-49 y. 50-59 y. 60-69 y. 70+ y.
Very good 11 10 3 0 2 1
Very good 55 46,5 44,5 28 14 12
Mediocre (neither good nor bad) 30 39,5 43 52 56 53
Bad 4 3 8 16 19 21
Very bad 0 0 1 3 7 10
DIFFICULT TO SAY/ REFUSAL TO ANSWER 0 0,5 0 1 2 3
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100 100

 

Table 3. By gender

  Men Women
Very good 7 3
Very good 42 29
Mediocre (neither good nor bad) 41 48
Bad 7 14,5
Very bad 2 4
DIFFICULT TO SAY/ REFUSAL TO ANSWER 1 1,5
TOTAL 100 100

Table 4. By type of settlement

  Urban population Rural population
Very good 5 5
Very good 37 31
Mediocre (neither good nor bad) 45 44
Bad 9 15
Very bad 3 4
DIFFICULT TO SAY/ REFUSAL TO ANSWER 1 1
TOTAL 100 100

 

Table 5. According to the level of financial security of the family (self-assessment)[i]

  Very low Low Average High Very high
Very good 2 1 4 5 11
Very good 12 22 30 41 53
Mediocre (neither good nor bad) 49 49 52 45 32
Bad 25 20 11 7 4
Very bad 10 7 3 1 0
DIFFICULT TO SAY/ REFUSAL TO ANSWER 2 1 1 1 0
TOTAL 100 100 100 100 100

 

Table 6. Feeling of happiness - the distribution of responses by health status (in %)

  Very good or good health Mediocre health Poor or very poor health
Happy 85 63 40
Both happy and unhappy (mediocre) 7 17 12
Not happy 6 18 46
DIFFICULT TO SAY/ REFUSAL TO ANSWER 2 2 2
TOTAL 100 100 100

 

For comments, please contact Liana Novikova, l.novikova@kiis.com.ua

  


[i] Very low level - not enough money even for food. Low level - enough money only for the most necessary things. Average level - enough money for daily expenses. High level - buying expensive things (refrigerator, TV, etc.) involves saving or getting a loan. Very high level - can afford to buy some valuables or anything they want.

 


3.6.2021
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